Stumble
by Me and Mrs Jones
Summary: Just as Paul came off his nightly patrol, a new cub phases. He is shocked when he imprints on the timid wolf. One-shot, M/M, rated M to be safe.


**A/N: Okay, this is me gushing about how talented my partner in crime is. This was just a little story he came up with and he wrote it in a couple of hours. I couldn't write this in a day! When he finished, he said that it was for me and that I could do with it what I wanted. I decided to share it with all of you. "Me" you are incredibly talented and I can't tell you how much I love writing with you. Thank you for sharing all of your musings with me, I'm honored. :***

**STUMBLE **

I came in from a night patrol and was just about to crawl into bed when a howl echoed through the forest. I groaned and turned around. Why couldn't the new cub phase when I was on patrol? Just my luck he waited until I was beyond tired. I walked to the forest and a giant wolf greeted me. He phased and slipped on his shorts.

"It's a sub," he said and started walking toward the scent.

"Another one?" I asked.

"Yeah, Seth is with him as we speak but, asked we meet him in human form to start with," he sighed.

"Jake, you know he can hold his own out here," I said patting my alpha's back. He had taken over for Sam just weeks after phasing and his imprint joined the pack giving him the confidence to take over as true alpha and Sam happily taking on the beta position he was comfortable with.

"I know he can," he smiled. Seth had proven time and time again he was a good fighter and also, he had our alpha under his thumb. We came to the clearing and stood there looking at the new cub. His fur a soft grey almost like mine and black and white patches scattered around his body. Jacob pulled me down and waved the rest of the pack to sit on the ground letting the young cub get used to our presence.

Seth came toward us and licked his mate's face before laying his head on his lap allowing Jacob to run his hand through his fur. "Welcome to the pack, cub," Jacob said in a gentle voice. The cub finally looked up, his tail wagging. He looked around the pack and his eyes finally fell onto mine.

"Oh shit," I groaned. I had just imprinted on the young cub. The rest of the pack looked at me and then at my imprint. The young cub took off with Seth on his tail. I watched in horror as my imprint ran away from me. Jacob's large hand squeezed my shoulder. "I'm not gay," I said shrugging off his hand.

"Paul, you may not be gay but, your wolf wants that boy," he sighed. He too had been straight until he imprinted on Seth. We had watched the imprint happen before our very eyes. Jacob's wolf almost killed the young cub as he tried to mount him. It was only by luck we managed to get Seth away from the raging alpha. It took weeks for Seth to trust Jacob, to go anywhere near him but, they never looked back once they again grew to become friends. "Go home and rest. We will make sure he is safe," Jacob ordered. I nodded and left not able to go against an alpha order.

It was all but impossible to sleep, my mind on my imprint. I didn't even know his name yet, I knew he would be perfect. I shook my head, I wasn't gay yet, I wanted nothing more than to be with him, to hold him, to protect him. I sighed giving up the idea of sleeping and headed to the kitchen to find food. Jared walked in and smiled helping himself to the sandwich that I had just prepared.

"How you feeling?" he asked with a mouthful.

"Fine," I lied. "Did they manage to get him phased?" I asked. Jared shook his head. "Who's with him?" I asked worried my imprint was out there alone. Of course, I knew they wouldn't leave him alone but sue me, my wolf was worried.

"Seth and Jacob," he said heading to his bedroom. He paused and looked at me. "It's Brady Fuller," he said before leaving me alone. I sank into the chair and let my mind wander to the face of the young cub. I knew exactly who he was of course. He was a friend of Seth's who had the light brown hair. He was different from the rest of us even though he was pure Quileute. I couldn't help but smile, he was my imprint and if I had to have a male one, I could've done a lot worse. He was young and I would be his friend teaching him things and taking him for... I was dragged out of my musing when again the howl came, this time from my alpha. Jared came out and threw his shorts in the basket we had outside for when we came home from patrol. Again, the howl echoed around the forest. "Looks like we are all up," he said as he phased. I raced out after him and phased.

"Paul, get yourself here NOW!" Jacob ordered showing me exactly where he was. "The rest of you phase out," he ordered. I could see Seth in his human form but, nothing else. I ran as fast as my legs would take me feeling my mate as I grew closer. I came to a sliding halt beside my alpha and looked at my imprint in wolf form on the ground. I couldn't hear anything from him at all and took a step closer making Seth stand aside. My mate was asleep. I looked at Jacob who chuckled. "Thought you might want to keep him warm while he slept. He will phase to human any minute," he said laying down letting his mate sit on his back. I carefully laid down and wrapped my large wolf form around the young cub.

"Does he know about the imprint?" I asked.

"No, although he thinks you're angry at him and doesn't know why," Jacob said.

"I'm not angry at him, shocked," I admitted.

"You going to accept him?" Jacob asked.

"Do I have a choice?"

"We all have choices, Paul."

I showed Jacob me and Brady surfing and playing football on the beach. "I will be a big brother to him," I said.

"Good," he said giving a wolf grin. Brady whimpered and he phased to his human form. Automatically, he pushed closer into me keeping himself warm. "He could sleep for the rest of the day," he said standing up with Seth still on his back. He turned and left me to guard my imprint.

Wrapping my wolf around him he reached out and grabbed my tail holding it to his chest. My wolf was finally content and I fell asleep. I was awoken by my imprint shaking. I wrapped myself around him more until whimpered.

"It's not a dream, is it?"

I carefully stood up and shook my head before turning and walking away so I could phase without hurting him. He grabbed hold of my tail before I could move. I turned around and licked his cheek. I wished I could tell him I wasn't leaving him. No one else was in wolf form to get them to come and explain to him what I was going to do. I laid down and pointed to my back. The best thing was to take him to Jacob's house and ask him to come out. The pack would need to rest after being with him. He smiled and jumped on my back not caring he was naked, whether he hadn't noticed because of his heightened body heat or he simply didn't care. When I went to stand and his small arms wrapped around my neck, his body laying down on my back. My wolf rumbled with joy. Slowly we walked to Jacob's house where I whined to get Jacob's attention. My imprint hadn't moved other than his hand now stroking my ear.

Jacob walked out with Seth behind him. Seeing his friend, Brady slid off my back and giving me a quick pat he ran to Seth who had one of Jacob's tee shirts in his hand. It was only then that my imprint realized he was naked. Quickly putting it on, he let Seth lead him inside promising him food. Brady turned around and waved. The moment the door was shut, I phased. Jacob let me put on my shorts before he spoke.

"You still going with the big brother thing?" he asked and I nodded.

"Quil has shown an interest in him," he shrugged.

"What the fuck?" I growled. We knew that Quil was gay and had no issue with him being so but, wanting my imprint was not fine by me. "He has a right if you don't mark him," Jacob said.

"I won't allow it! Brady is a mere child," I growled. "He might imprint on someone else still. Where would that leave Brady?" I asked. Jacob shrugged and went inside. I stood there fuming. I had nothing against Quil, he was a good guy. But, Brady was my imprint and it was my job to protect him. I heard a sweet laughter coming from inside and I relaxed. My imprint was happy. I walked toward the house until I saw Quil standing at the edge of the forest. The moment he saw me he turned and ran deeper into the forest. Shaking my head I went inside. The moment Brady looked up he stood and went to stand behind Jacob.

"You must be hungry," Seth smiled getting me a plate of food. "Thank you for looking after Brady," he winked at me as he put the food down in front of me his back to Brady so he couldn't see him. I could feel and hear my imprint's heart accelerate and a small gasp escaped his lips. "Brady, your food is getting cold," Seth said ignoring the fact that he too could hear his reaction.

My imprint walked around his alpha's large frame and took his seat across from me. Picking up his fork, he dug into his food his eyes on his plate. Seth and Jacob chatted as though we weren't there. It eased the tension in the room which I was grateful for. Once we finished, Brady leaned over and grabbed my plate taking it to the sink. I went and took the tea towel and began drying the dishes he handed me. Neither of us yet to say a word to each other. "I should take you home to explain things to your parents," Jacob said finally. Brady nodded and went to stand behind Jacob once again. "Paul, could you organize the pack for a bonfire," he said taking Brady's hand. I nodded and went to leave.

"Thank you for staying with me," he said quietly.

"No probs," I said running out. My wolf wanted us to go back to our imprint. I knew we would see him in a few hours but, it still ached. Sam was informed of the bonfire and he and Emily promised to get the food prepared. Thanking him I went to see if Jared was up to getting the firewood with me. However, he wasn't home. Sighing, I went to gather the wood myself. I was soon joined by Embry who had been out for a run and quite happy to have something to do.

"You okay?" he asked after he brought the final load dropping it on the already large pile.

"Yeah," I sighed.

"You're not but, you will be," he patted my shoulder and left me to build the bonfire. It was just about done when Quil came toward me. My wolf growled and he paused so I would have time to get him under control.

"What do you want?" I finally said running my hand through my short hair.

"To talk," he said as he came closer and picked up a piece of wood placing it on the pile. "Why would you deny your imprint as a mate?"

"Why do you want my imprint?" I growled.

"I don't want him, Paul," he said. I looked at him confused. "I just, I just, god I want an imprint so bad and you're throwing yours away," he said.

"I'm not throwing him away. God, how could you think that? He is a child and needs me to protect him," I said going closer to him. He began to sob. How did I not know my pack brother was so miserable? "Quil talk to me," I sighed pulling him to the log before sitting down beside him.

"I just see Jacob and Seth so happy and the others and wonder why I haven't gotten it," he sighed.

"You want to be tied down for the rest of your life?" I asked.

"Don't you?"

"Honestly, I have never thought about it," I admitted. But, now I was tied down to somebody forever. My heart fluttered at the thought. Having Brady in my life wasn't a horrible thought. In fact, it was kinda nice to know I would always have him around. "You will find someone when the time is right," I gave him a one arm hug. "Want to race?" I asked. He was up and stripping before I could finish my sentence. One thing we all had in common was when we were low, we would run.

We ran for several hours and in the end, Quil told me to go to my imprint. he could see I was in pain. As much as I tried to hide it from him, my wolf was suffering. Thanking him, I raced to my imprint's house I could see him in an upper window with earphones on his ears, dancing to something. I couldn't help but chuckle as he started doing a silly little dance move. He pulled off his earphones and came to the window. He saw me and waved. I stood on my hind legs and waved back. I heard his sweet giggle and he waved again as his mother called him from downstairs. I had to get home to get ready for the bonfire. I wondered how he was going to get there. As if reading my mind, the house phone was ringing as I walked in.

"Talk to me,"

"Hello, is this Paul?" the shy voice of my imprint said. I couldn't help but smile.

"Hey Brady,"

"Oh um, I don't know where the bonfire is and um, I was um," I could almost feel the heat from his cheeks through the phone.

"I will come pick you up and drive you," I said letting him relax a bit. "Give me an hour, okay?"

"Okay, bye then," he hung up. I stared at the phone before I slowly hung it up.

"Shit," I raced out to my truck and opened the door; crap from god knows when I last cleaned my truck, out fell from the passenger door. Scooping up what I could, I took it to the trash bin. Deciding it would be easier to take the bin to my truck I began clearing out moldy pizza boxes and beer cans. I also found a pair of women's underwear. Shaking my head, I threw them in the trash as well. I had no idea how they got there. When all the trash was out, I stood back. It needed a vacuum and a dust. I turned to see Jared standing there looking amused.

"Fuck up," I growled. Shaking his head, he jumped in his car. He was going to pick up Kim and no doubt stopping off to have a quickie on the way. Even after the vacuum it smelled like rotten eggs. I went to find some air fresheners and went mad spraying the whole cab and even on the truck bed for good measure. "Idiot," I chuckled to myself as I walked inside throwing the now empty can in the trash bin.

I pulled up to Brady's house with a minute to spare. Thankfully, I allowed myself an hour. Brady came running out with a smile on his face. He tripped over his large feet. I felt my heart race in fear. He managed to gain his footing however and gave a last wave to his parents who were standing at the door. They looked at me and I wondered if Jacob had told them about the imprint. I got out to open the door for Brady but, he had already jumped in. He watched as I walked to his folks. "Would you like him home at a certain time?" I asked giving my extended hand to his father.

"Do we have a choice?" he asked.

"Sir, he has to abide by your rules," I said. The young cubs were never given the night shifts as they had to keep up with their school work and try to lead a normal life as possible.

"Midnight," his mother said resting her hand on her husband's arm. "Please, don't let him drink," she said.

"Of course," I said.

Brady was all but bouncing in the cab. I jumped in and ordered him to put his belt on. He quickly put it on and stared out the front window. Pulling out, we headed to the bonfire, his leg bouncing. "Brady, you okay?" I asked.

"Um yeah," he said blushing. I gave his leg a pat and he looked at my hand and then at my face, his blush deepening.

I wanted to ask him if he understood about the imprint but, didn't know where to start. I turned the radio on instead. Brady started humming along to the song tapping his hand on his leg. Or so he thought my hand was still resting on it. I hadn't realized I had left it there.

"You're warm," he said.

"So are you," I chuckled.

"No, I'm hot," he said. His hand went to his mouth as though it just clicked as to what he had just said.

"How about we go with cute," I chuckled. His cheeks again went a soft pink. It was something I was already becoming to love.

Pulling up to the bonfire, we were the last to arrive. I went to open my door when I heard my imprint whimper. I stopped and looked at him. "Who are all these people?" he asked. I got back in and closed the door. Even though the pack would be able to hear our every word, I gave him what he thought was private between the two of us.

"The pack, which you have seen. I will introduce you properly to them all also, their imprints. Emily and Kim are mated with Sam and Jared, and of course the elders. These people are your family now, Brady and as such love you," I explained. He gave me a small nod and took a deep breath.

We walked over to the others. Brady went straight to Seth and they took off to the food table giggling. I raised an eyebrow, it was so weird seeing Seth so relaxed, even with Jacob at his side he was tense. Maybe with no other submissives in the pack he was on edge. I went to pay my respects to the elders however, my eyes never left my imprint. Quil stayed away from my imprint knowing better. My wolf would kill him if he ever touched him without my permission.

I went to my imprint and took a plate off Emily. Thanking her, I led Brady back to the bonfire while explaining to him the pecking order of where we sat until the elders left us. He went to sit at the furthest seat until I took his hand in mine. "You get to sit next to me," I smiled.

"Really?" he asked stumbling over his feet again. This time he couldn't save himself or his food. With so many wolves around though both were saved. I grabbed my young imprint before he fell flat on his face and Embry and Jared grabbed our plates. Brady looked embarrassed and wouldn't look at anyone.

"Bray, we have all been the same," I said lifting his chin so he could look into my eyes. His soft brown eyes were watery which melted my heart. I brushed my thumb over his cheek as he leaned into my hand. "Come on, Billy is about to start the legends," I thanked the others as they handed us our plates and carefully walked my imprint to our place within the circle. Embry was sitting on Brady's left, next to him Quil. They happily talked to themselves leaving me and Brady to talk. However, by the time we finished our food, Brady was all but sitting on my knee. Jacob and Seth came over and asked us to go for a walk with them. Taking my imprint's hand we walked toward the beach. Brady noticeably relaxed his grip lessening the further we went away from the others.

Seth took Brady's hand and told me to keep walking ahead with Jake, he needed to have a word with Brady. I looked at my imprint to see if he was okay with it. He gave a happy smile at his friend and let my hand go. I caught up with Jacob keeping up with his long strides, our imprints falling further behind. Every now and again however, we would both turn to check on them. "Don't take this the wrong way, Paul," Jacob said quietly. My ears perked up and I went to stop only to have him grab my arm and kept walking. "Brady is scared of the others in the pack," he said.

"What have they done to him?" I growled.

"They haven't done anything, Paul. Seth is the same. We are dominants, they are submissives. The only one they trust is myself and of course, Brady with you as well," I looked at Seth. Now that I looked at it, he was standoffish in a lot of ways and it explained a lot.

"What can we do?" I asked.

"Love and protect them," he shrugged.

"Done," I chuckled.

"Until they are marked," he started.

"I am not going to mark him. He is too young and," I swallowed a lump in my throat.

"And what," Jacob chuckled.

"Bastard you fucking knew didn't you?" I sighed.

"I'm alpha, of course I knew but, you have to wait just like me," he said.

"How did I not see it?"

"Love is blind my friend love is blind," he patted my back. Our imprints came racing toward us Seth launching himself into Jacob's arms. My Brady stumbled into mine. I picked him up and brought his face to mine. His soft brown eyes dancing with joy, I gave his nose a light kiss before putting him down. He wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his cheek on my chest.

"Damn," I said.


End file.
